Railroad-crossing.



W. A. BLANKINSHIP 6: W. COPELAND.

I RAILROAD CROSSING. I

- APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1910.

990,799, Patented Apr. 25, 1 911.

2 SEEETHIEBT 1.

J2 ESL-1 JV um/Mus Ian/5'1. and

W. A BLANKINSHIP 6: W.'GOPELAND. RAILROAD OROSSING. APPLI-OA'I'ION nun SEPT. 26, 1910.

Patented Apr. 25, 191 1. 1

2 SHEEN-SHEET 2.

WILLIAM ASBURY BLANKINSHIP AND WILLIAM COPELAND, OF CORSICANA, TEXAS.

RAILROAD-CROSSING".

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

Application filed. September 26, 1910. Serial No. 583,899.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, VILLIAM A. BLANKIN- SHIP and WILLIAM COPELAND, citizens of the United States, residing at Corsicana, in the county of Navarro and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Crossings, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in railroad crossings, and more particularly to that class of devices which are arranged in combination with the crossing toreduce to a minimum degree the noise which is caused by the wheels of a train passing over the rails at their intersecting points.

The primary object of our invention resides in the provision of a device of the above character which is of extremely simple construction and may be installed in the present system of railroad trackage without requiring any change whatever in the arrangement or construction of the crossing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plurality of movable arms adapted to be arranged between the inner and outer rails, said arms lying flush with the tread of the rails so as to provide a continuous surface for the wheels in the passage of a train over the crossing.

ith these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Figure 1 is a plan view of a railroad crossing of the common construction showing our device cooperatively associated therewith. Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. l, and Fig. 4t is a detail perspective view of the invention removed from the crossing.

In the embodiment of our invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, for convenience in description, the characters N., S., E., and TV. are applied to the north, south, east and west ends of the intersecting track sections.

The outer and inner track rails R and R, respectively, are arranged upon the ties T and spiked thereto in the usual manner, said ties being arranged upon a suit-able founda tion structure. The rails running north and south extend between the rails running east and west, said rails, at their intersecting points being arranged in sections, the ends of the sections of the north and south rails being disposed in the same plane as the inner opposed edges of the rails running east and west so as to afford an unobstructed passage for the wheels.

Between the inner and outer rails and upon each side of the rails running at right angles thereto, our device is arranged. The same comprises the arms 5 which are enlarged at one end, as clearly shown at 5 in Fig. 4, and are rigidly secured upon a rod 6 which is mounted to rotate in the webs of the outer rails B. These arms are disposed for movement into and out of the space be tween the opposed longitudinal edges of the inner and outer rails. One end of each of the rods 6 upon which the arms 5 are fixed, is formed with a crank 7, and these cranks are connected by a rod 8 which extends beneath the rails which are disposed in parallel relation to the rods 6 to which said connecting rod is connected. The ends of the rod 8 are bent upwardly at right angles, as shown at 9, and are provided with eyes through which the ends of the cranks 7 extend.

From reference to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the arms 5 are of sufficient length so that when in their operative positions between the inner and outer rails which run north and south, the ends of said arms will be flush with the ends of the rail sections and with the inner longitudinal edges of the outer rails running east and west. The other pairs of arms which are arranged between the rails running east and west extend inwardly to the inner longitudinal edges of the north and south rails when in their operative positions. Thus it will be seen that a continuous supporting surface for the tread of the wheels is provided between the spaced inner and outer rails of the crossing. In this manner the noise commonly heard by the passage of a train over a railroad crossing is to a great extent eliminated. To one end of each of the connecting rods, a rod 10 or other actuating element is secured. Any desired means, such as electricity or compressed air may be provided for operating the rod 10 to rotate the rods 6, and move the arms 5 to their operatlve and inoperative positions.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings the arms are shown arranged for the passage of a train over the rails running east and west, the

cost and requires no change whatever in the ordinary construction of crossing in its installation. The device is moreover extremely eflicient in operation, and owing to the few elements employed in its construction, the cost of repairs is rendered very small. 9

.While we have shown and described the required construction and arrangement of the various parts, it will be understood that the device is susceptible of a great many minor modifications without departing from the essential features or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is l. The combination with a railroad crossing comprisingspaced inner and outer intersecting rails, of arms arranged in the space between the inner and outer rails running in each direction, rods rotatably journaled in the webs of the outer rails, said arms being rigidly secured on said rods, connecting rods between the ends ofthe rotatable rods arranged in each pair of rails, and an actuating element connected to said connecting rod to rotate the first named rods and position the arms between the spaced inner and outer rails, the inner ends of said arms being flush with the inner longitudinal edges of the outer rails running at right angles thereto, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with a railroad crossing comprising spaced outer and inner intersecting rails, of rods rotatably journaled in the outer rails, arms fixed upon said rods adapted to lie in the space between the inner and outer ails and flush with the tread surface thereof, the inner ends of said arms being disposed in the same plane as the inner edges of the outer rails running at right angles thereto, cranks formed on the ends of said rods, connecting rods between the cranks of the rods journaled in the rails, and actuating elements connected to said connecting rods to rotate the said first named rods and move the arms to their operative and inoperative positions substantia-lly as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we hereunto allix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM ASBURY BLANKINSHII. WILLIAM COPELAND. Vitnesses:

G.- WV. BLANKINSHIP, Mrs. E. J. BLANKINSIIIP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' Washington, I). C. 

